Stuti Gokhale
Lifetime’s yearly slate of Christmas movies surely brightens up the holidays for the viewers, with various sweet romance and family stories to choose from. Directed by Jake Helgren, ‘Writing Around the Christmas Tree’ is one such film that revolves around romance novelist Mikaela, who is unlucky in love despite having created several successful love stories on paper. When she suffers from writer’s block, Mikaela decides to go for a Christmas writer’s retreat that her late mother used to organize in her father’s quaint snowy lake town inn every year.
At the retreat, Mikaela meets Levi, another author who is a huge fan of her mother’s books and is covering her works in his latest book. Their ideologies clash immediately, as Levi feels that she can’t write a romance novel if she hasn’t experienced true love herself. However, as they spend more time together during the retreat, Mikaela begins to realize that maybe Levi’s isn’t wrong, and he could be the possible cure to her writer’s block. With a beautiful snow-clad lakeside inn and Christmas décor as a backdrop, ‘Writing Around the Christmas Tree’ is indeed a treat to both the eyes and heart. If you are curious about the charming places where it was filmed, we’ve got you covered.
Writing Around the Christmas Tree Filming Locations
Filming was most likely completed in an 11-day schedule in March 2021. Of course, the cast and crew followed all the necessary protocols on set to ensure that everyone remained healthy. Even though filming in 2021 has been much easier than in 2020, one can never be too careful! Now, let us share the details about the filming locations of ‘Writing Around the Christmas Tree.’
Lake Arrowhead, California
‘Writing Around the Christmas Tree’ was filmed in Lake Arrowhead, an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California. The delightful little village is surrounded by mountains, dense forests, and a gorgeous reservoir, making it a much sought-after location for filming. Tourism is a major contributor to the region’s economy, and several Christmas movies have been filmed at the famous SkyPark at Santa’s Village. Movies like ‘Space Jam,’ ‘The Parent Trap,’ and ‘Dr. Dolittle’ were also filmed in and around Lake Arrowhead.
Nicknamed the Golden State, California is geographically diverse and the hub of popular culture, sports, and entertainment. It is famously the home to Hollywood – the oldest and largest film industry in the world. The state offers a range of natural backdrops that include deserts, mountains, a vast coastline, metropolitan areas, and dense fir and redwood forests.
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Bodega, Jamestown, and Napa County are some of the most renowned filming locations in California. The state has several well-connected international filming studios that are equipped with the best technology and production crew. It has a giant network of talented artists as the biggest names in the industry reside in California. Major movies like ‘La La Land,’ ‘Get Out,’ and ‘Die Hard,’ and TV shows like ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians‘ and ‘Modern Family‘ have all been filmed in the Golden State.
Writing Around the Christmas Tree Cast
Krystal Joy Brown plays Mikaela Leighton, a successful author who arrives at a Christmas writer’s retreat to clear her writer’s block. Curtis Hamilton stars as Levi McGuire, another author at the retreat, who opposes Mikaela’s methods of writing love stories. Brown has done notable work in several Broadway productions, the movie ‘One Royal Holiday,’ and the TV series ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan.’ On the other hand, Hamilton is known for his role as Dr. Dre in the movie ‘Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le.’
‘Writing Around the Christmas Tree’ also features James Black as Irving Leighton, Mikaela’s father, who owns the lakeside inn. Other cast members include Meg Steedle (Olive Olsen), Gavyn Michaels (Keifer), Dawnn Lewis (Sharon Samuels), Max Emerson (Mitchell), Samantha Quan (Gigi), and René Ashton (Tracy).
Read More: Best Lifetime Christmas Movies
